Faith in ‘traditional’ media risen sharply in the last one year
The 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer has found that only one in four Britons trusts social media for information, and users would like to see tighter regulation.
The survey, which is the largest and longest-running study of trust in the world, found that people are rapidly losing trust in social media amid concerns that such platforms lack sufficient regulation and do not do enough to tackle bullying, illegal activities and the spreading of extremist content on their sites.
In the UK, only 24 per cent of the population trusts portals like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with news and information, the survey found. However, there has been a huge jump in trust in traditional media, with levels reaching 61 per cent.
Most people think companies like Facebook and Twitter are not regulated enough (64 per cent) and lack transparency (63 per cent), according to the Edelman Trust Barometer.
Ed Williams, chief executive officer of Edelman UK, said: “After a flood of negative headlines in 2017, it’s time these companies sat up and listened. The public want action on key issues related to online protection, and to see their concerns addressed through better regulation. Failure on their part to act risks further erosion of trust and therefore public support.”
The survey sampled 3,000 respondents in the UK. A third of them were in the 16-18 age group.
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